Small margins leave Lancaster defeated on the range

The Lancaster university archery club shot valiantly in blustery conditions at York’s 22 acres site but were pipped to the points in four of the six categories. In a protracted meet each archer shot 90 arrows; 30 each from 60, 50 and 40 metres, proving that concentration was as significant as a steady arm.

Experienced men’s (1pt)

This category was fiercely contested with 10 archers taking part in a high quality event.  Over the 60 metre distance it was York that filled the top three places; however Lancaster regained ground, particularly over 40 metres which they dominated.  Special mentions to York’s Arjun Kharpal who posted scores of 200 plus in each round to claim the one point for York; and Lancaster’s Rory Spencer who performed admirably in the first round.

1^st place – Arjun Kharpal (Y) 749.28
2^nd place – Will Fortnam (L) 655
3^rd place – Luke Fox (Y) 623.2

Experienced women’s (1pt)

York dominated this category with both archers coming from the white rose side. Emily Sarsfield-Hall clearly thrived in a situation devoid of pressure to score a commendable 607.6 points and narrowly missed out on matching Kharpal’s feat of 200 plus points per round.

Novice men’s (1pt)

This category was contested by archers with less than one year’s experience and saw a strong field of 10 competitors; with Lancaster outnumbering the York team. Many competitors were evenly matched after the 60m distance, although it was to prove bittersweet for Lancaster’s Matt McCormack who lay in third place before he had issues with his bow and could not continue.
Although they only had three entrants, York finished strongly and managed to take second and third; although it was Lancaster that claimed the one point for Roses. Matt Tripp was the star of the event and his superb score of 211 over the 50m distance was the key factor in his victory.

1^st place – Matt Tripp (L) 606.2
2^nd place – Sam Godfrey-Mayes (Y) 589.1
3^rd place – Chris Abel (Y) 555

Novice women’s (1pt)

This category was an all Lancaster affair, with three archers competing for the one point on offer. Frances Bolton-King was the dominant performer, scoring highest over all three distances and compiling a respectable 413.5 to give Lancaster their second point in the archery.

Experienced team (4pt)

In this category York benefited greatly from Arjun Kharpal’s dominance in the individual shoot, the secure a relatively comfortable victory. For York, it was positive to see Emily Taylor make her way into the team of four despite stiff competition.

1^st place – Emily Taylor, Arjun Kharpal, Sam Godfrey-Mayes, Luke Fox (Y) 2569.18
2^nd place – Will Fortnam, Mat Smith, Mat Tripp, Rory Spencer (L) 2446.7

Novice team (2pt)

This was an incredibly close contest, with the standard being particularly high throughout. In the end it was York that prevailed by the tiny margin of just 1.2 points, despite Lancaster’s Mat Tripp claiming victory in the individual category.

1^st place – Sam Godfrey-Mayes, Chris Abel and Daniel Clapham (Y) 1473.2
2^nd place – Mat Tripp, Ollie Moore and Tanawan Wee (L) 1472

After the results were announced organizer Toby Foster spoke to SCAN. He revealed that “We (York) expected to win but not necessarily by such a large margin”. He was keen to stress that overall the two clubs are of relatively similar ability, “We had a few excellent archers which carried us to victory”. Finally, it was great to see a Roses contest pass by in such good spirit, with archers from both sides extremely hospitable.

 By Matthew Todd